With Christmas only a few weeks away, we decided to try our hands at making candy canes this month for First on the First–a terrifying challenge, at least to me. Any time you’re handling burning hot lava and trying to fashion it into something edible, I get nervous. And let’s not forget, I wasn’t exactly lucky the last time we tried candy-making.

Searching the internet, you’ll find a lot of articles on how big companies make their candy canes, but not many from the home cook’s perspective. It could be that this is an exercise in insanity–the yield isn’t particularly high compared to the perceived work involved. Or it could just be that, with candy canes being so inexpensive, few people feel it’s worth attempting them. It’s not like you’re saving a whole lot of money here–in fact, you’re probably spending more by making them yourself. Regardless, there’s a certain satisfaction from presenting a project from your own kitchen that can’t be beat. So we marched on, timid but hopeful.

It’s important to note that this is not really a project to be shared with younger children. Candy-making, in general, involves precise (scalding hot) temperatures and quick movements. Let the kids help you with the sugar cookies and leave the candy canes to the adults. The kids will be more than happy to assist in eating them once they’re completed.

I’m not a fan of corn syrup, given the likelihood that it is genetically modified and I’m still not sure how I feel about ingesting such things. But many candies are extremely difficult, if not impossible, to make with substitutes. They’ll crystallize, the texture will be all wrong, and you’ll just end up angry and frustrated. This is a once a year thing; I can accept it. (You’d be eating it in commercial candy canes, anyway.)

Hand protection is important. Because you have to act when the candy is pliable, it will be quite hot. Get some of those $1 bin tight-fitting gloves, cover them with non-latex food-safe gloves, and oil up. You’ll have to suck it up to play this game; as candy cools, it turns brittle and you won’t be able to work it anymore. If it cools off too much, you can set it in a low-temperature oven to warm it up again. The recipe I used suggested 200 degrees Fahrenheit, but I’ve seen as low as 170 degrees Fahrenheit recommended. I’ve also heard that you need to be careful about letting the dyed portion of the batter sit too long in the oven, so keep that in mind when you’re planning it all out.

After reading through several recipes, I selected the one from Bay Area Bites for my experiment. It had the best explanation I could find and better estimates of how long each step would take. Plan on an hour to an hour and a half of uninterrupted time to devote to the candy canes. That’s not always easy to do, but I luckily found a kid-free morning to tackle it.

Before we get to my version, why don’t you check out how the other ladies’ candy canes turned out here:

• Homemade Candy Canes by Food Babbles
• Homemade Candy Canes by Anna {Hidden Ponies}
• Candy Cane Red Velvet Jars by Suitcases and Sweets
• Candy Canes for Cheaters by Jenn Larson- Go Running, Mama!
• Homemade Candy Canes by Ruthy of Omeletta

Alright. Are you ready? This will go fast. Read through it a couple times before you start, because there won’t be time for second-guessing once you’ve begun this journey. Hold on tight! Let’s hope it’s not a bumpy ride!

So how’d that go? I’d love to see the candy canes you make! (I’d also love to play around with the flavorings–they don’t have to be peppermint or red and white!)

Next month we’ll be making Sticky Toffee Pudding. I have never even tasted this before, so I can’t wait to make it and see what it’s like! If you’d like to join us, check out the First on the First tab above for details. We’d love to have you at the table!

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